WorkshopDementia and Dignity, Personality, and the Best
1. Organizing:
Group B03
2. Date:
13:00～17:00, Sunday, September 8th, 2024
3. Venue:
Online or Faculty of letter meeting room, Faculty of Letters, Law, and Economics Building No.1, Tsushima Campus, Okayama University
4. Format:
HyFlex
5. Program:
- 13:00
- Opening, Chair: Haruka Hikasa (Graduate School of Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering in Health Systems, Okayama University)
- 13:03～13:10
- Opening remarks, Yasushi Kato (Sugiyama Jogakuen University, Grant-in-Aid for Transformative Research Areas A “Dignity Studies” Project Director)
- 13:10～13:40
- Shinya Ishii (Medicine for Integrated Approach to Social Inclusion, Graduate School of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Hiroshima University)
“What is best for the individual with dementia?” - 13:40～14:10
- Yumi Okinaka (Academic Field of Health Sciences, Okayama University)
“Living with Aging: How Elderly People with Dementia Want to Live -The thoughts and dignity of the elderly with dementia spun by the individual, family and care providers-“ - 14:10～14:15
- Break (5 minutes)
- 14:15～14:45
- Momoko Sasazuki (Faculty of Human Sciences, Waseda University / Departmant of Pediatrics, Graduate school of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University)
“Thinking about the dignity and best interests of the child -Through medical care for newborns, children, and children with severe mental and physical disabilities-“ - 14:45～15:15
- Tetsuro Shimizu (Tohoku University, Emeritus Professor / Clinical Ethics Network Japan)
“Life with Dementia: A “Dignity” Approach to Relationships” - 15:15～15:30
- Break (15 minutes)
- 15:30～15:40
- Remarks by Mie Inamura (Graduate School of Human Development and Environment, Kobe University)
- 15:40～15:50
- Remarks by Reiko Goto (Advanced Comprehensive Research Organization, Faculty of Economics, Teikyo University)
- 15:50～17:00
- Plenary Discussion
- 17:00
- Closing remarks, Reiko Goto (Advanced Comprehensive Research Organization, Faculty of Economics, Teikyo University)
6. Number of participants:
32 people
7. Overview and review:
This workshop was held with the aim of scrutinizing and further clarifying the issues to be addressed in dignity studies by focusing not only on the elderly but also on children with regard to what is considered the “personality” or “best” for the person with dementia and how “dignity” is perceived. At the opening of the meeting, Yasushi Kato, the project director of “Dignity Studies”, introduced the philosophical arguments regarding whether dignity belongs to “human beings” or “autonomous personalities”. Participants included researchers from various fields and medical and nursing professionals.
In his presentation, Shinya Ishii, who specializes in medical care for the elderly, pointed out that unconditional compliance with the wishes and preferences of the person with dementia can undermine dignity and that respect for dignity may limit autonomy, from a specific case study. He also indicated the need to respect the “personality” of the patient by learning about the patient’s history and progress, rather than interpreting the symptoms of dementia solely according to the medical model.
Next, Yumi Okinaka, a specialist in gerontological nursing, based on her research on the life desired by the elderly with dementia and how family members and professional care providers perceive it, argued that the recognition and “respect” of the elderly person’s own wishes and “pride” by family members and professionals will help protect the dignity of the person with dementia and support life integration.
Momoko Sasatsuki of Dignity Studies Group B05, who specializes in pediatric medicine, discussed “the dignity of the child’s life as it is there as a fact,” and presented the need for collaborative decision-making between health care providers and families, based on both maximizing the child’s own power and interests as the best interest and protecting the child from harm.
Tetsuro Shimizu, a specialist in philosophy and clinical ethics, analyzed the usage of the word dignity, and discussed “subjective dignity,” which is an attitude of affirming one’s current life from one’s own perspective and could be called “loss of dignity” in some cases, and “objective dignity,” which is respected from the perspective of one’s surroundings regardless of one’s physical or mental state.
Following these presentations, commentators Minae Inahara and Reiko Goto of Dignity Studies Group B03 raised questions related to the dichotomy of “able, normal, happy/unable, abnormal, unhappy” and institutional conditions that fairly meet the needs of all members of society.
Through this workshop, from the perspectives of diverse disciplines, how to respect the person with dementia themselves, the best element, and clinical attempts to reconcile value conflicts were shown, we had a valuable opportunity to gain a more multifaceted understanding of the specific issues of dignity studies that we address.
(Text by Haruka Hikasa)